Experimental Aircraft Hidden From Public View Under The Nevada Desert

At any given time, there are probably several "black" aircraft programs underway on the part of the U.S. military. Some secret projects, once they are declassified, may wind up in museums. But some are never fully revealed, and the airplanes are said to sometimes be buried in the desert at the famed Area 51, also known as Groom Lake.

The blog Urban Ghosts writes extensively about some of the projects that have been tested in the desert, the remains of which may be interred away from prying eyes. The author, who signs simply as "Tom", writes that the secret projects may contain either highly toxic material or technology of such a sensitive nature that the military is unwilling to risk having it ferried to a "boneyard", so they are buried in the desert. He says that there are more that a dozen wrecked aircraft that are known to be buried at Groom Lake, a practice that has been going on since the 1950s. They include four U-2s and several A-12s, which was the predecessor to the SR-71 Blackbird. The remains of two Lockheed Have Blue aircraft, which was a concept demonstrator that led to some of the stealth technology for the F-117, are said to have been buried there after they crashed.

It's not known for sure what may be buried at Area 51, or stored in a secret hangar known as "Dyson's Dock" at the base where several still-classified aircraft are said to be on view for workers at the base, though those cleared are reportedly not allowed to see everything in the hangar. And the blogger reports that those aircraft are occasionally towed out of the hangar and pushed into unmarked desert graves, never again to see the light of day.